Wednesday, December 22, 2010

But I have gifts to wrap.Who am I kidding...I still have loads of shopping to do.Laundry and packing.And tons of things that need organized, which is why I'm looking forward to this.

I could use a little, okay a lot of help in finding things in my craftroom and with less time I NEED to know where things are.

Why is this important? Well there is something about completing a project that motivates me in all other areas of my life. Whether it's a scrapbook page or a sewing project, being able to look at something and say, "I made that," makes me feel like I could do anything.

I get that feeling looking at the kids but this feeling wears off quickly. And well, I can find a place for 100 layouts...100 kids, not so much.

So I will be tuning in since my friend Emilie is a crafty genius and I am sure I will learn something that will improve my quality of life. Seriously.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Probably because it has been. Things are a bit crazy right now as I prepare to go back to work and oh yeah...there's that whole Christmas thing. I knew that my leave would fly by with the extra stress of the holidays but I am trying to enjoy my last bit of time at home while getting that major list of things done that I totally thought I would start weeks ago.

Awesome. Miss C. already woke up from a 15 minute nap. Nice.

Wait maybe she's going back to sleep.

Nevermind.

Wait, maybe she is. Well I'll post the major things and the rest will have to wait.

This is how Colin came home from school one day last week. You would think he was having a pretty good time there. Well he's has been miserable and since I am in super duper protective mama bear mode...thanks hormones. I have been spending as much time in his classroom as I could while I was on leave.

I totally see why he is miserable. Everyone in that school is incredibly stressed. Very few smiling faces, the students are yelled at after they make a poor choice rather than helping them make good ones, the classroom is large and there is little to no extra help for the teacher. Colin is sinking faster than the Titanic at this point. And this is from a kid who likes to do worksheets for fun??? He can tell you what the score will be in a football game with various scenarios...if we get the field goal, the extra point and now he is learning about two point conversions. For him to not like school at this point there is something terribly wrong.

So we have made the decision to pull him out of public school and he will be starting in a private Catholic school after the holiday. Now both my husband and I attended Cathoilic school from K-12 grade so this isn't that far of a stretch. We had just felt that there were so many other opportunities in a public school and that it was good enough. The school he is going to is warm and caring with smaller classrooms, options to do advanced work and most importantly they spend time helping the children succeed instead of trying to corral too many students into the corner in the rush, rush, rush of the day. I really feel like this will be a better fit for our family. However there will be a lot of adjustments for us to make this transition, like uniforms and getting up early. Okay so maybe only two adjustments but they are BIG ones. Think of us if you get a chance. :-)

On a happier note Matt and I attended his annual Christmas party and I found a dress in less than 15 minutes, it was only 29.95 and it had a built in nursing top. I figure that it would be a good investment if I end up going anywhere fancy with the baby. I hound this at H and M which I had no idea had a maternity section.

Well I gotta run...I have loads to do and only a few weeks to do it. And looking at this picture I need to go to the gym. :-)

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

She is officially able to roll over at will. Well from her tummy at least. First roll was on Sunday night, (7 Weeks 3 Days), after returning from a trip to Dutch Wonderland. I guess hanging out in her car seat that whole time made her want to get a move on. I love how she does this like it's no big deal and how she cries until you put her back on her tummy.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Well after a week long lull of under the weatherness, I am finally starting to get a little caught up. It's weird how laundry is a clear indication of how well I am managing everything else in my life, if I'm on top of it...game on. If there are mountains of it well...it's every man for himself and good luck finding clean underwear. I'm just sayin'

Anywho I finally found a nursing bra that seems to fit and support like it should. I wore this last time in a different size and this time I felt like the smaller size was still a little too snug. Then I moved one of the hooks over and what do ya know...bliss.

And then I found out that it is discontinued. Nice. That's really awesome.

So I have phone calls into retailers trying to determine how many everyone has left so I can place an order. For whatever reason it seems that I am difficult to fit. I guess manufactures don't realize that gals who can feed large countries breastfeed too.

Okay that's enough about all of our underwear here's what everyone wants to see right?

Miss C. continues to do well, she is moody in the evening but so's the rest of the family so she fits right in :-)

The rose shirt is from Target and was a score at $3.50 She is still rocking all of her newborn clothes and has barely made a dent in any of her 0-3 stuff.

Well we are off to pick up Colin from his third early dismissal this month. Sometimes I think I should really reconsider my career choice. These schools may be on to something.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

I had Matt snap this photo this afternoon in the middle of Colin playing Toy Story Mania on his Wii and Miss C having a nursing induced coma. This is our new normal.

Although today included a shower, going to the gym, and a parent teacher conference. So generally our new normal doesn't include this much kid free time but we will go with that for the sake of the picture :-)

Also since it Veterans Day I thought I would share a photo of my favorite one.

I finally took a photo of this image so I can make copies. My sister found a way to get copies of the originals and I look forward to ordering those, but for now at least I have this. This is my Dad back in the day and I have to say that he makes a very handsome solider. He served in WWII and Korea. I am very thankful for his service and for everyone else who has come before him and after him.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Thursday, November 4, 2010

I'm going to try really hard to do this every month. I have no idea what happened in Colin's first year unless it revolved around a doctor's visit or projectile vomiting. So here's hoping that this improves my memory!

At One Month...-Does not like to be put down and is in a ring sling as I type this.-Is nursing like a pro and I just pumped milk yesterday so I can leave the house for more than five minutes, (I mean Daddy can experience the special bond of feeding).-Likes her bouncer but not either swing that we own.-Is sleeping well at night and gave me a wonderful 6 hour stretch last night. -Still sounds like a duck when she is awake. -Helps me everyday to drop off and pick up her brother. -Just today spit up a little on Colin.-Seems to be doing well and is tolerating everything that I am eating...except for maybe the spicy chili that I made the other day :-)-Is still wearing newborn clothes and some 0-3 months from Old Navy.-Looks like a porcelain doll when she is asleep and a crazed diva when she is upset.-Starting to look like her own person but still needs some more bows since she is often mistaken for a boy.-Has way more hair then her brother had at this time...even though it's still very little. -LOVES running water.

Also today is Thursday so I took a quick photo of where Charlotte has been spending a lot of her time.

Well it's raining here so I plan on staying in today and trying to catch up around the house to get ready for the weekend.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

So the first title is because I have secretly exchanged Colin's Coconut Milk Yogurt for Soy Yogurt. I say secretly because if I told him it was Soy he wouldn't touch it..yay for food allergy awareness! Boo for food trials! Here is today's lunch...

A sunbutter and organic jelly sandwich on homemade bread, Triscuts, Carrots, PSU Pineapple Chunks, and a small serving of Silk Vanilla Yogurt. I threw in a treat from Trick or Treating and a juicebox and we have hit every food group. He had some soy last evening and didn't throw up, run to the bathroom or break out in hives. So if you are the praying kind please think of Colin as we try this since literally this would open a huge amount of eating out options for our little guy. Soy milk is everywhere now! So not only could he go to Dunkin he could also go to Starbucks :-)

Not to brag...but I will :-) I put this together today while breastfeeding Charlotte in a sling. So I totally felt all Earth Mothery today while actually accomplishing something. Which seems like a pretty big feat this week.

Hence the second title :-)

Charlotte LOVES running water. She is a bit demanding and desires to be held most of the day or in her car seat while running an errand. (Which I totally don't mind, my home on the other hand is requiring some attention) She is a pretty light sleeper so as soon as you put her down or come home she knows and is NOT happy about it. So I am thanking God today for having laundry all over my house because it gave me a few extra minutes between feedings since I sat Miss C. in her car seat in front of the machine. So if it wasn't for laundry I wouldn't be able to have lunch or blog today with both hands :-)

We did manage Trick or Treating which Colin enjoyed even though he gives most of it away to his parents but really, don't most kids do that anyway?

See no running water in the photo or a boob in her mouth. Miss C. Not happy.

I have no idea why it was so hard to find a newborn costume. I guess they figure that you should be a better parent and not take them outside at all. Hey, I read a study that is linking lack of Vitamin D exposure to Food Allergies. So uhh. We are outside a lot.

Here's Colin handing out candy. He said he actually liked this more anyway. As always he was a complete riot.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Hmmm...hard to believe that I got a photo of Little Miss C sleeping since she's been spending loads of time awake during the day. Good for getting rest at night, not so good for letting me play with my camera. Oh well, I'm blessed right now that she is sleeping at night, I'll take what I can get :-)

This one just cracks me up.

I have loads of photos to share once I upload them. Which I guess I could be doing now instead of blogging. Too bad time is up and my family found where I am hiding.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

I started reading Emily's blog ages ago and while the concept of taking more photos with your children isn't new...maybe I just needed a cute button to get me motivated. (I'm sure the 12 weeks off of work won't hurt either) So I can't promise that this is something that I will stick with once I go back to work but at least my kids will have a few extra photos of us together right?

Not to mention that maybe I will improve my ability to take mirror and/or self timer shots. But even though the focus is soft on this photo, it makes me happy to look at it. And I'm pretty sure that's the most important point.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Friday, October 15, 2010

Miss Charlotte is already one week old but has been going non stop since she came home. What can I say? That's how we roll! Or as Colin would say it, "welcome to the family!"

She was born early Thursday morning and we left the hospital Friday afternoon. We then went home and packed to head to Penn State. Only seemed right since her brother spent his first night in State College. We have to be fair right?

We hung out in Matt's parents condo while everyone else went to the game. We did venture to a tailgate at the end of the game to visit with a few friends and spent some time walking downtown. The weather was perfect and she was perfectly content walking around in her sling.

We stayed till Sunday and then came home and have been busy running errands, shopping and having photos taken. Matt went back to work today and this is the first day that I have been home alone with Charlotte. I'll be honest. I'm kind of loving it. We have a few hours till we pick her brother up from school and I'm looking forward to getting a little baking done and possibly some sewing.

Life is good right now, a little crazy with two kids but very, very good.

Thank you for all of the well wishes, our expanding family appreciates them very much!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Wishing I was in Disney so I could pick up a pack of these...It's a sickness...I know.

Realizing that maybe it was a little unrealistic to think that I could go into labor on my own...I mean I can't get pregnant without help why would I think labor would be any different???

WALKED my insane son to school this morning. Mostly because I am a sucker and I did say if he got up early enough we could walk. Did I mention that it was raining? Oh and that I had to walk home to get my CAR so I could go to work. Colin was happy as a duck in our development, (yes we have loads of ducks, and goats and sometimes a horse but that's a whole other post) hoping and skipping to school this AM. Yep, I'm a sucker.

Oh and it was about a mile or so and I'm still not in labor. On Sunday I RAN hoping that would get things going, oh and did the elliptical and played football when I got home.

Nothing. *sigh* I really could be pregnant for awhile longer, I just want to avoid the induction and the IV's and the laying in bed and the whole medical intervention to begin with.

Sad that I will miss Homecoming Weekend at PSU this year. If I had her by today we were still going to go up but I'm thinking that we missed the boat and it's probably a bit irresponsible to go so close to my due date if I haven't had her.

As of today Charlotte's crib sheet is done and her bumper is 98% finished. I just have to add the ties and work on the crib skirt. I think I will finish that tonight. I just need to pick up some additional fabric that we ordered and I will start her Minnie Mouse quilt.

Having another ultrasound today and a non stress test. Hopefully it will be my last one, I've only had like 15 this pregnancy. Seems a bit excessive but at least I know she is doing well in there.

Well, wish me luck and hopefully little miss Charlotte will decide to make her grand entrance sooner rather than later. :-)

Thursday, September 30, 2010

There are a few solids thrown in there as well but I am thrilled to report that I actually completed Charlotte's crib sheet and it ACTUALLY fits. So since I can't sleep anyway since someone decided to drop and make me pretty uncomfortable, I figured I would start cutting the bumper batting and fabric.

Seriously, if it wasn't for all of this measuring and math I would be totally done the entire bedroom.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Yep, that's Colin with his requested hot coffee from Dunkin. It's of course decaf. He already runs way too fast as it is. This has been our weekend tradition this summer, iced coffee for Mom and Dad and Colin chooses iced or hot depending on his mood. We order it black and return home to add sugar and rice milk. Probably not the best habit to start but it does crack me up when he walks around with his coffee cup. Just had to share this photo :-)

Why glue and popsicle sticks??? A girlfriend once asked if my baked goods were held together by glue and popsicle sticks since I cook without major allergins due to my son's Eosinophilic Disorder. Sometimes I think my life is held together with the glue I use to scrap our daily happenings since this is the hobby that not only keeps me grounded but sane.